Tarpon Springs

Someone must be charged with constantly Windexing the glass cases in the bakery, there are so many eager noses pressed against it every day. Hellas has been one of the big guns in Tarpon since 1970, its reputation boosted by the huge attached Greek bakery (clearly doing well enough to have recently annexed the property behind it as a new parking lot). Family-owned and in sight of the sponge docks, the restaurant is a lively spot, family friendly, with cheerful servers and a broad enough menu to hit every price point.
On the bakery side, the baklava cheesecake is silly good, and in the restaurant my favorite entree is slowly braised tomatoey lamb shanks, served somewhat incongruously atop spaghetti. There are addictive garlic shrimp, nice gyros in warm Greek pita, and a very generous Greek salad that comes with a scoop of potato salad like a depth charge in its midst.